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Thursday, July 22, 2010
U.S. ‘Concerned’ About China Buildup
While the US and China seem to have by and large reached a compromise over naval operations in the Western Pacific, American military leaders remain concerned about China’s buildup.“I have moved from being curious about what [the Chinese] are doing to being concerned about what they are doing,” Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told troops at a town hall meeting in South Korea Wednesday. Mullen said the military is concerned that it does not have a clear picture of China’s intentions. The country suspended military-to-military relations with the U.S. earlier this year after the U.S. said it would sell $6.4 billion worth of weapons to Taiwan.
Putin Reverses Grain Intervention Strategy - Due to Drought
The state will begin unloading grain from its stockpiles August 4 to help relief efforts in drought-stricken regions, Agriculture Minister Yelena Skrynnik said Wednesday, ending two years of stockpiling meant to support prices. The government also has said it hopes to help farmers and is considering five-year subsidized loans to purchase grain from stockpiles among other bailout measures to lessen the impact of the drought. Twenty-three regions across Russia have declared a state of emergency as weeks of record-breaking heat have ruined 9.6 million hectares of grain this season.
California city approves pot factories
The controversial plan, which makes Oakland the first in the nation to license wholesale marijuana cultivation, was passed by the city council late Tuesday
Now You See It, Now You Don't: An Infrared Invisibility Cloak Made of Glass
That's exactly what Elena Semouchkina, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Michigan Tech, is doing. She has found ways to use magnetic resonance to capture rays of visible light and route them around objects, rendering those objects invisible to the human eye.
Buddhist Bhutan Proposes Anti-Conversion Law
Christians in this Himalayan nation who are still longing to openly practice their faith were disheartened this month when the government proposed the kind of “anti-conversion” law that other nations have used as a pretext for falsely accusing Christians of “coercion.”
Asia's budding bankers no longer feel need to go West
Lim, aiming for a mergers and acquisitions department, represents a new wave of Asian recruits who don't feel the pull of having to start on Wall Street or in London's City, partly mirroring a broader shift in the global banking sector where talent and transactions are migrating from West to East.
World court Kosovo ruling could have global impact
The World Court rules on Kosovo's unilateral secession from Serbia on Thursday in a case that could have implications for separatist movements around the globe, as well as Belgrade's stalled EU membership talks.
Retired spy hired to run CIA clandestine service
The CIA brought one of its most experienced spies out of retirement to run the far-flung U.S. intelligence network, the agency said Wednesday. John D. Bennett witnessed the emergence of al-Qaida in Africa in the 1990s and was on the front lines of the war on terrorism as the station chief in Pakistan. From his seat in Islamabad, he oversaw the unmanned Predator drone program, which has become the agency's most successful weapon against terrorism.
Russia negotiating Caspian oil deal with Iran
Russia's state oil company Zarubezhneft has been negotiating with Iran for a joint exploration project in the Caspian Sea. Zarubezhneft, which worked in Iran in the 1990s, has sought to begin any project with a contract for exploration in the disputed Caspian.
Five suspected Israel spies reportedly flee Lebanon
Five Lebanese men accused of spying on behalf of Israel have fled their country, the Lebanese newspaper Ad-Diyar reported on Thursday. Rasan al-Jud, a former senior officer in the Lebanese Army, is thought to have escaped to Germany by commercial plane. The friend that drove al-Jud to the airport told the newspaper that he did not know the purpose of his trip.
National Citizenship Service for 16-year-olds launched today
The “National Citizen Service” will bring together 16-year-olds from different backgrounds and around the country to become community volunteers and join in outdoor pursuits. David Cameron has said that he hopes participation in the non-military, voluntary form of national service will become a “rite of passage” for all teenagers.
Gold Coin Sellers Angered by New Tax Law
Those already outraged by the president's health care legislation now have a new bone of contention -- a scarcely noticed tack-on provision to the law that puts gold coin buyers and sellers under closer government scrutiny. ..."Coin dealers not only buy for their inventory from other dealers, but also with great frequency from the public," Piret said. "Most other types of businesses will have a limited number of suppliers from which they buy their goods and products for resale."
Four Iran MPs plan Gaza trip: reports
Four Iranian lawmakers plan to make a trip to the blockaded Gaza Strip next week by travelling through Egypt, state news agency IRNA reported on Wednesday. "This trip will be made next Tuesday," one of the four lawmakers, Mahmoud Ahmadi Bighash, who is also a member of Iranian parliament's foreign policy commission, was quoted as saying by IRNA.
Gov't watchdogs: mortgage program is not working
Government watchdogs told a Senate panel Wednesday that the Obama administration's effort to help homeowners avoid foreclosure isn't working and that the Treasury Department has failed to fix the program. Special inspector general for the financial bailouts Neil Barofsky said the program has not "put an appreciable dent in foreclosure filings," during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on the $700 billion bank bailout. He also said the Treasury Department has ignored earlier demands that it set clearer goals for the program.
Obama's Electronic Health Records Czar: HIV Status and Abortions Need Not be Included
Dr. David Blumenthal, the Obama administration's National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, said on Tuesday that patients can choose to omit procedures such as abortions and positive HIV tests from the electronic health records (EHR) that every American is supposed to have by 2014 under the terms of the economic stimulus law that President Barack Obama signed last year.
North Korea anger at US-South Korea war games
The US and South Korea's plans to hold joint military exercises pose a major danger to the region, North Korea says. Some 20 ships and submarines and 100 aircraft are to take part in four days of manoeuvres in the Sea of Japan from Sunday. North Korea has also said new US sanctions against it will violate a UN statement issued after the sinking of a South Korean warship in March.
Venezuela seeks stake in anti-Chavez TV Globovision
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has said his government is due to take control of a minority stake in the country's main anti-Chavez television channel, Globovision. The government would then be entitled to appoint a member of the channel's board of directors, Mr Chavez said. His government has been in conflict with Globovision for several years.
Obama signs sweeping US financial reform into law
President Barack Obama has signed into law the biggest overhaul of American financial regulation in decades. The president said the law will ensure "that everyone follows the same set of rules, so that firms compete on price and quality, not tricks and traps". The law is a major victory for Mr Obama and the Democrats, who passed it with little Republican support after months of political wrangling.
Abbas: Obama is being unclear
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday criticized US President Barack Obama for failing to provide him with clear answers to a number of questions regarding the future of peace talks with Israel. Abbas also confirmed that Obama has been exerting pressure on him to enter direct negotiations with Israel.
F-35 jet purchase decision pending
Israel is expected to make a decision in the coming weeks regarding the purchase of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), senior defense officials said on Wednesday. This would make Israel the first foreign customer to sign a contract to purchase the advanced stealth fighter jet.
UN: Aid convoys to Gaza don't help
Aid convoys like the May 31 Gaza flotilla “are not helpful to resolving the basic economic problems in Gaza and needlessly carry the potential for escalation,” according to a briefing the UN under-secretary-general for political affairs presented to the Security Council on Wednesday. The briefing report also called for the “immediate release” of captive IDF soldier Gilad Schalit, calling the lack of humanitarian access to Schalit “inexcusable.”
EU countries want more Iran sanctions
A new poll shows European countries strongly supportive of international intervention to stop a nuclear-armed Iran, including further sanctions. By overwhelming numbers, citizens of Germany, France and Sweden said that they wanted the international community to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons – by 80 percent, 83% and 90% respectively – rather than agreeing that Iran has the right to develop nuclear weapons
While the US and China seem to have by and large reached a compromise over naval operations in the Western Pacific, American military leaders remain concerned about China’s buildup.“I have moved from being curious about what [the Chinese] are doing to being concerned about what they are doing,” Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told troops at a town hall meeting in South Korea Wednesday. Mullen said the military is concerned that it does not have a clear picture of China’s intentions. The country suspended military-to-military relations with the U.S. earlier this year after the U.S. said it would sell $6.4 billion worth of weapons to Taiwan.
Putin Reverses Grain Intervention Strategy - Due to Drought
The state will begin unloading grain from its stockpiles August 4 to help relief efforts in drought-stricken regions, Agriculture Minister Yelena Skrynnik said Wednesday, ending two years of stockpiling meant to support prices. The government also has said it hopes to help farmers and is considering five-year subsidized loans to purchase grain from stockpiles among other bailout measures to lessen the impact of the drought. Twenty-three regions across Russia have declared a state of emergency as weeks of record-breaking heat have ruined 9.6 million hectares of grain this season.
California city approves pot factories
The controversial plan, which makes Oakland the first in the nation to license wholesale marijuana cultivation, was passed by the city council late Tuesday
Now You See It, Now You Don't: An Infrared Invisibility Cloak Made of Glass
That's exactly what Elena Semouchkina, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Michigan Tech, is doing. She has found ways to use magnetic resonance to capture rays of visible light and route them around objects, rendering those objects invisible to the human eye.
Buddhist Bhutan Proposes Anti-Conversion Law
Christians in this Himalayan nation who are still longing to openly practice their faith were disheartened this month when the government proposed the kind of “anti-conversion” law that other nations have used as a pretext for falsely accusing Christians of “coercion.”
Asia's budding bankers no longer feel need to go West
Lim, aiming for a mergers and acquisitions department, represents a new wave of Asian recruits who don't feel the pull of having to start on Wall Street or in London's City, partly mirroring a broader shift in the global banking sector where talent and transactions are migrating from West to East.
World court Kosovo ruling could have global impact
The World Court rules on Kosovo's unilateral secession from Serbia on Thursday in a case that could have implications for separatist movements around the globe, as well as Belgrade's stalled EU membership talks.
Retired spy hired to run CIA clandestine service
The CIA brought one of its most experienced spies out of retirement to run the far-flung U.S. intelligence network, the agency said Wednesday. John D. Bennett witnessed the emergence of al-Qaida in Africa in the 1990s and was on the front lines of the war on terrorism as the station chief in Pakistan. From his seat in Islamabad, he oversaw the unmanned Predator drone program, which has become the agency's most successful weapon against terrorism.
Russia negotiating Caspian oil deal with Iran
Russia's state oil company Zarubezhneft has been negotiating with Iran for a joint exploration project in the Caspian Sea. Zarubezhneft, which worked in Iran in the 1990s, has sought to begin any project with a contract for exploration in the disputed Caspian.
Five suspected Israel spies reportedly flee Lebanon
Five Lebanese men accused of spying on behalf of Israel have fled their country, the Lebanese newspaper Ad-Diyar reported on Thursday. Rasan al-Jud, a former senior officer in the Lebanese Army, is thought to have escaped to Germany by commercial plane. The friend that drove al-Jud to the airport told the newspaper that he did not know the purpose of his trip.
National Citizenship Service for 16-year-olds launched today
The “National Citizen Service” will bring together 16-year-olds from different backgrounds and around the country to become community volunteers and join in outdoor pursuits. David Cameron has said that he hopes participation in the non-military, voluntary form of national service will become a “rite of passage” for all teenagers.
Gold Coin Sellers Angered by New Tax Law
Those already outraged by the president's health care legislation now have a new bone of contention -- a scarcely noticed tack-on provision to the law that puts gold coin buyers and sellers under closer government scrutiny. ..."Coin dealers not only buy for their inventory from other dealers, but also with great frequency from the public," Piret said. "Most other types of businesses will have a limited number of suppliers from which they buy their goods and products for resale."
Four Iran MPs plan Gaza trip: reports
Four Iranian lawmakers plan to make a trip to the blockaded Gaza Strip next week by travelling through Egypt, state news agency IRNA reported on Wednesday. "This trip will be made next Tuesday," one of the four lawmakers, Mahmoud Ahmadi Bighash, who is also a member of Iranian parliament's foreign policy commission, was quoted as saying by IRNA.
Gov't watchdogs: mortgage program is not working
Government watchdogs told a Senate panel Wednesday that the Obama administration's effort to help homeowners avoid foreclosure isn't working and that the Treasury Department has failed to fix the program. Special inspector general for the financial bailouts Neil Barofsky said the program has not "put an appreciable dent in foreclosure filings," during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on the $700 billion bank bailout. He also said the Treasury Department has ignored earlier demands that it set clearer goals for the program.
Obama's Electronic Health Records Czar: HIV Status and Abortions Need Not be Included
Dr. David Blumenthal, the Obama administration's National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, said on Tuesday that patients can choose to omit procedures such as abortions and positive HIV tests from the electronic health records (EHR) that every American is supposed to have by 2014 under the terms of the economic stimulus law that President Barack Obama signed last year.
North Korea anger at US-South Korea war games
The US and South Korea's plans to hold joint military exercises pose a major danger to the region, North Korea says. Some 20 ships and submarines and 100 aircraft are to take part in four days of manoeuvres in the Sea of Japan from Sunday. North Korea has also said new US sanctions against it will violate a UN statement issued after the sinking of a South Korean warship in March.
Venezuela seeks stake in anti-Chavez TV Globovision
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has said his government is due to take control of a minority stake in the country's main anti-Chavez television channel, Globovision. The government would then be entitled to appoint a member of the channel's board of directors, Mr Chavez said. His government has been in conflict with Globovision for several years.
Obama signs sweeping US financial reform into law
President Barack Obama has signed into law the biggest overhaul of American financial regulation in decades. The president said the law will ensure "that everyone follows the same set of rules, so that firms compete on price and quality, not tricks and traps". The law is a major victory for Mr Obama and the Democrats, who passed it with little Republican support after months of political wrangling.
Abbas: Obama is being unclear
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday criticized US President Barack Obama for failing to provide him with clear answers to a number of questions regarding the future of peace talks with Israel. Abbas also confirmed that Obama has been exerting pressure on him to enter direct negotiations with Israel.
F-35 jet purchase decision pending
Israel is expected to make a decision in the coming weeks regarding the purchase of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), senior defense officials said on Wednesday. This would make Israel the first foreign customer to sign a contract to purchase the advanced stealth fighter jet.
UN: Aid convoys to Gaza don't help
Aid convoys like the May 31 Gaza flotilla “are not helpful to resolving the basic economic problems in Gaza and needlessly carry the potential for escalation,” according to a briefing the UN under-secretary-general for political affairs presented to the Security Council on Wednesday. The briefing report also called for the “immediate release” of captive IDF soldier Gilad Schalit, calling the lack of humanitarian access to Schalit “inexcusable.”
EU countries want more Iran sanctions
A new poll shows European countries strongly supportive of international intervention to stop a nuclear-armed Iran, including further sanctions. By overwhelming numbers, citizens of Germany, France and Sweden said that they wanted the international community to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons – by 80 percent, 83% and 90% respectively – rather than agreeing that Iran has the right to develop nuclear weapons
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